The present invention relates to aircraft and more particularly to an aircraft walkway arrangement.
Providing a passenger exit in certain regions of an aircraft cabin, such as a central region, has been found to be desirable. Such an arrangement may for example, enable an efficient use of cabin space, enable a reduction in passenger congestion and/or enable a reduction in aircraft turnaround times. However, many known aircraft walkways for accessing an aircraft exit (such as airstairs and air-bridges) would be impractical for use on an exit in certain regions of the cabin as they would interfere with parts of the aircraft structure, for example the wing or an engine. Alternatively or additionally, many walkways would take passengers into restricted areas, such as the region in the vicinity of the aircraft engines, and thus not comply with safety regulations.
Many walkways are specifically arranged to connect a passenger exit with the ground (for example, where passengers are required to board a bus for transport to and from the airport building). Such walkways (for example mobile airstairs) are often however, located on the ground and require ground staff to operate, and to connect them, with the aircraft exit. Having airport-based walkways can be the source of delays, as they may not be available when required. In addition, the useability of the exit may be solely dependent on the ground-based mobile airstairs, giving poor flexibility as to when and where the passengers may disembark.
It is known to integrate embarking/disembarking walkways with an aircraft structure. Often however, the integrated walkway typically needs to be made up of segments or telescopic parts such that it can be stored in a relatively compact form. This may limit the strength of the walkway and can make it unduly complex.